Press.



PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

M. MUELLER.

PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED 001217, 1903.

3 BKBETB-BHEET 1.

nfor Max Mueller.

% Inve PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

M. MUELLER.

PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED 001217, 1903.

3'SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Inventor.- Jlaa: Mueller;

UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OEEICE.

MAX MUELLER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN B. BUSS OF JENNINGS, MISSOURI.

PRESS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,752, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed October 17,1903. Serial No. 177,416.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX MUELLER, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Presses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speci fication, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Figs. 3 and 4 are substantially central sectional elevations at right angles to each other, and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the cams.

This invention relates to improvements in presses particularly adapted to pressing bricks, the primary object being to provide a simple and inexpensive machine having a large capacity and capable of producing a product equal in quality to the product of more expensive machines.

To these ends and also to improve generally upon machines of the character indicated the invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed.

Generally speaking, the present machine comprises mechanism for first causing the plungers or rams to rapidly partially compress the clay, to then slowly and powerfully compress the clay in order to give the desired density to the brick, and to then operate quickly to release the brick, the rapid movemen ts giving capacity to the machine and taking place at such times that the quality of the product is not affected and the powerful slow compression being sufiicient to give the proper density to the product.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 1 1 indicate the sides of the main frame or support, and 2 is a shaft extending across the machine, at the bottom thereof, and journaled in said side plates 1, said shaft preferably carrying rollers 3, located outside of the said side plates. Vertically slidable in slots 4 in said side plates is a ram-frame which has an upper head 5, upon which the lower ram or rams 6 are mounted, and depending side plates 7, in which is journaled the main shaft 8, said main shaft extending across said slidable ram-frame and projecting beyond the side walls 7 of the same. Fixed to each projecting end of said main shaft is a gear 9, which carries upon its inner side a cam member 10, these cam members being supported upon the before-mentioned rollers 3 and conveniently consisting of angle-plates bolted or otherwise secured to the gear-wheels 9. It will therefore be apparent that as said gearwheels 9 rotate the said slidable ram-frame is raised or lowered through the instrumentality of the cams 10. A second ram-frame 11 telescopes Within said first-mentioned ramframe and is vertically slidable within the latter, the side plates 12 of said second-mentioned ram-frame being slotted, as at 13, to permit passage of the said main shaft 8 and to permit said second-mentioned ram-frame to have sliding movement with respect to said shaft. Ribs 14 upon said second-mentioned ramframe extend through the before-mentioned slots 4 and have vertical tension-rods 15 connected thereto, said tension-rods being connected at their upper ends to ribs 16 upon the head 17 by which the upper ram or rams 18 are carried. This head 17 is slidable in suitable slots 19 in the before-mentioned side frame-plates 1.

As the first-mentioned slidable ram-frame carries the lower rams 6, while the secondmentioned ram-frame 11 carries the upper rams 18, said first-mentioned ram-frame will hereinafter be referred to as the lower ram-frame and said second-mentioned ramframe will be hereinafter referred to as the upper ram-frame, notwithstanding the fact that the ram-frame 11 may be below the other said ram-frame.

Two rotatable shafts 20 extend across the upper ram-frame and are journaled in the depending side walls thereof, one of these shafts being above the before-mentioned main shaft 8 and the other of said shafts 20 being below said main shaft. Fastened, respectively, upon the upper shaft 20, the main shaft 8, and the lower shaft 20 are cam-rollers 21, 22, and 23, which are shaped as illustrated in Fig. 5 and are constantly in engagement with each other, each of said. cam-rollers having connected thereto a gear 24 and each of these gears meshing with the corresponding gear upon the adjacent said cam roller or rollers. It will now be apparent that the upper ram-frame is supported upon the cam-roller 22 and that said upper ram-frame is reciprocated with respect to the lower ram-frame by means of the action of said cam-roller 22 upon the cam-rollers 21 and 23, carried by said upper ram-frame. As will be more fully hereinafter described, the rotation of the cams 10, upon the base-rollers 33, serves to raise and lower both ramframes, for the lower ram-frame is carried by and supported upon the shaft 8, which also carries said cams 10, and the upper ram-frame is supported upon the roller 22, which is also carried by said shaft 8. Furthermore, the rotation of the shaft 8 serves to raise and lower the upper ram-frame with respect to the lower ram-frame by reason of the action of the camroller 22 upon the cam-rollers 21 and 23, connected to and movable with said uppeFramframe 11.

In the main frame of the machine is formed a suitable mold-box or mold-boxes 24, adapted to receive the clay and in which the rams compress such clay, the moldbox or mold-boxes having their open upper ends level with a table 25, which extends upon each side of said box or boxes, as is common in brick-presses. A charger and ejector 26 of well-known construction reciprocates across the open end or ends of the mold box or boxes in a well-known manner and for well-understood purposes, said charger and ejector being shown cooperating with a supply-chute 27, down which the clay is delivered. In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings the mold-box charger is shown as being moved forwardly by means of levers 28, suitably pivoted to the frame of the machine, each lever having one end in connection with the mold-box charger and its other end 29 in the path of movement of a tappet or projection 30 upon one of the before-mentioned gearwheels 9, while a tension-spring 31 serves to move the ejector and charger backwardly.

Preferably the machine includes means for limiting the downward movement of the lower ram-frame in order to regulate the charge received in the mold box or boxes, and for accomplishing this purpose regulating-rods 31 are connected to laterally-extending ribs 32 upon the lower ram-frame and are slidable through openings in ribs 33 upon the main frame of the machine, said regulating-rods being provided above said ribs 83 with heads or other suitable stop members 345 and being adjustably supported upon said ribs 32 by means of the nuts 34:. The tension-rods 15 preferably extend through suitable ribs upon the upper ram-head 17 and the upper ram-frame 11 and are fastened to said head and frame bymeans of nuts 35, threaded upon said rods and clamping the said head and frame, so that adj ustment of said nuts upon said rods serves to vary the distance between said head and frame, and thus to regulate the distance between the upper and lower rams. In this manner the amount of compression between the rams can be adjustably regulated.

Manifestly the main shaft 8 can be driven in many ways. As herein illustrated, a driving-shaft 36 is suitably journaled upon the main frame of the machine and carries a gear 37, which meshes with a gear 38, carried by the counter-shaft 39. Said counter-shaft also carries gears 40, which mesh with the beforementioned gears 9, the teeth of said gears 40 and 9 being of such character that the necessary vertical movement of the gears 9 is permitted.

The cams 21, 22, and 23 are similar to each other, and although they are only conventionally represented in Figs. 1 and 3, their contour is illustrated in Fig. 5, in which the central cam 22 is illustrated in the position occupied at the commencement of a cycle of operations. One of the cams 10 is also illustrated in said Fig. 5, said cam 10 in said illustration being diametrically reversed in order that the effective operation of both the cam 10 and the cam 22 with relation to each other can be readily understood. Bearing in mind the fact that the cam 10, in effect, carries both ram-frames and that the cam 22 controls the movements of the upper ram-frame with relation to the lower ram frame, (in other words, the cam 22 controls the compressing action of the rams, while the cam 10 controls the movements of the rams incident to receiving a charge, polishing the brick, and expelling the brick from the mold-box) the particular construction and action of the cams will be clearly understood from the following description: Referring first to the cam 10, the point (r is what may be termed its startingpoint 7;. 0., the point which rests upon the proper supporting-roller 3and is therefore effective when the machine is about to start a cycle of operations. Extending through an arc of about one hundred and fifteen degrees, the cam 10 has alow concentric portion Z), and extending through an arc of about forty-five degrees said cam has a high concentric portion a, what may be termed the forward end of the said concentric portion Z) and the b j I rear end of the said concentric portion 0 being separated from each other about twenty degrees and being connected by a rapidly-inclining portion (Z. Extending through an arc of about ninety degrees is a slightly-rising cam portion a, which has its lower forward end adjoining the rear end of said low concentric portion b, and the rear end of said portion a is connected to the forward endof said high concentric portion 0 by a rapidlyrising portion f, which extends through an are of about ninety degrees. Manifestly while the high concentric portion 0 is passing over the roller 3 both rams are elevated to the greatest point to which they can be raised by the cam 10, while when the low concentric portion Z) is passing over the supporting-roller 3 both rams are in the lowest positions to which they can be brought by means of the said cam 10. During the time that the portion (Z of said cam 10 is passing over the roller 3 both rams drop rapidly, the lower ram coming to its lowermost position. During the time that the portion 0 of the cam 10 is passing over the roller 3 the lower ram is elevated slightly and slowly, and the upper ram is also elevated unless the movement given the upper ram by the cam 10 be counteracted by that given said upper ram by the cam 22, and while the cam portion f is passing over the roller 3 the rams are rapidly elevated. That which may be termed the starting-point of the cam 22 is marked m. Extending through an arc of about ninety degrees is a cam portion at, which rises slightly and gradually from its forward .end to its rear end, the said starting-point at being in about the center of said cam portion a and the forward end of said cam portion being at a point in said cam 22 which corresponds in time of operation with the forward end of the high concentric portion 0 of the cam 10. Following said cam portion a is a cam 0, which extends through an arc of about ninety degrees and falls rapidly and considerably from its forward end (which adjoins the rear end of said cam portion a) to its rear end, the rear end of said rapidly-dropping cam portion 0 being at the point of the cam 22 which corresponds in time of operation with the rear end of the low concentric portion 7) of the cam 10. Adjoining the rear end of said cam portion 0 and extending through an arc of about ninety degrees, which corresponds in time of operation to the portion 6 of the cam 10, is a portion 0', which drops slightly and slowly toward its rear end and has its higher forward end joining the said cam'portion 0. Extending through the remaining ninety degrees of the cam 22 and through the are which corresponds in time of operation to the are containing the rapidly-rising portion f of the cam 10 is a rapidly-rising cam portion .9, whose lower forward end joins the said cam portion '1 and whose higher rear end joins the said cam portion 01. At the time of starting a cycle of movements in order to form a brick the point a of the cam .10 rests upon the supporting-roller 3 in the vertical axis of the machine, and the point m of the cam 22 is also in the vertical axis of the machine and in contact with the corresponding point of the upper similar cam 21, while the corresponding point of the lower cam 23 is also in the vertical axis of the machine, but is one hundred and eighty degrees from the portion of the cam 22 which engages the said cam 23. It is to be borne in mind that in the diagram Fig. 5 the point a of the cam 10 is one hundred and eighty degrees from the point at which it actually rests upon the roller 3, the said cam 10 being thus diametrically reversed in order that its efiective contour may directly correspond in the diagram to the effective contour of the cam 22 with relation to the upper cam 21. Each of the cams 21, 22, and 23 has a constant diameter and is what may be termed 'symmetrical --that is to say, one half of a cam is simply the reverse of its other half. The portion a is merely the reverse of the portion 9', and the portion 8 is merely the reverse of the portion 0, so that diametrically opposite quadrants of each of said last-mentioned cams are simply the reverse of each other. The cams are so made for the reason that the central cam 22 must act upon the upper cam 21 in order to force the upper plunger away from the lower plunger and must act upon the lower cam 23 in order to force the upper plunger toward the lower plunger, and in order to cause proper engagement between the three cams at all times, and thus prevent lost motion or rattling of the parts, the contacting surface of the lower cam 23 must move as far from the axis of rotation of the central cam 22 as the contacting surface of the upper cam 21 moves toward such axis of rotation. When all the cams are in what may be termed starting position, the rear end of the high concentric portion 0 of the cam 10 rests upon the roller 3, and the lower ram 24 is therefore at its highest point, having its upper surface in substantial alinement with the table 25, while the upper ram 18 hasbeen moved by the action of the cams 21 and 22 to almost its greatest distance from the lower ram 24, so that the rams are substantially fully opened. At this time of commencing a cycle of movements the charger 26 is between the rams ready to deliver a charge. As the machine starts to operate the portion (Z of the cam 10 becomes effective, and both rams drop in order that the charge may drop from the charger. into the mold-box, the forward end of the low concentric portion 6 of the cam 10 then coming into effective engagement with the roller 3 and the lower ram 24 remaining stationary. From the time that the machine has started until a short time after the low concentric portion 6 of the cam 10 has come into effective operation the portion of the cam-surface n which is between the starting-point m and the forward end of the cam-surface 0 causes the upper ram to open slightly, this action being an immaterial one. The charger 26 retreats between the time that the low portion Z) of the cam 10 becomes eifective and the time that the rear end of the portion a of the cam 22 passes out of engagement with the cam 21. Thus the moldbox has now received its charge, the charger ICC has retreated, and the machine is ready to compress a brick. From the time at which the retreat of the charger is completed until the rear end of the low concentric portion 6 of the cam 10 leaves the roller 3 the rapidlydropping portion 0 is presented to the upper cam 21, and the rapidly-rising portion .9 acts upon the lower cam 23, whereby the upper ram drops rapidly and compresses the clay into almost its final condition. The slightlydropping portion 1' of the cam 22 is then presented to the upper cam 21, while the slightlyrising portion a of said cam 22 acts upon the lower cam 23, whereby the clay is compressed slowly and powerfully into its final condition, thus giving the requisite density to the product. Meanwhile the slightly-rising portion 0 of the cam 10 has been effective, and the lower ram has thus been elevated slowly to force the compressed brick to about the open end of the mold-box and to thus polish the sides of the brick by contact with the walls of said mold-box. The rapidly-rising portion s of the cam 22 then becomes effective against the upper cam 21, (the correspondingly rapidly-dropping portion 0 being presented to the lower cam 23,) so that the upper ram is rapidly moved into substantially its fullyopened position and at the same time the rapidly-rising portion f acts upon the roller 3 to rapidly elevate both rams, and thus expel the finished brick from the mold-box. The high concentric portion 0 of the cam 10 then becomes effective, and the lower ram remains stationary, while the ejector ejects the brick and carries the new chargeinto position to be dropped into the mold-box, the upper ram rising slightly during this period by reason of the action of the forward half of the portion 11., although such action is immaterial. Therefore by reason of the j List-described action of the earns the rams are properly operated to receive a charge, then rapidly compress the clay into almost final condition, and then slowly and powerfully compress the clay into final condition, the sides of the brick being polished simultaneously with this slow powerful compression. The brick is then quickly expelled from the mold-box, the rams are simultancously with this expulsion quickly separated in order to place them in the proper position for the action of the ejector and charger, and the rams are held a sufficient period in open position to permit the ejector and charger to operate.

I am aware that minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my device can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.-In a press of the character indicated, a ram, a second ram cooperating therewith, a frame by which said second ram is carried, two cams upon said frame, and a third cam connected to said first-mentioned ram and intermediate said two cams carried by said frame, said two cams upon said frame and said intermediate cam being similar and having a rapidly-rising portion diametrically opposite a rapidly-falling portion and a slightly-rising portion diametrically opposite a slightly-falling portion, and a second cam connected to said first-mentioned ram and having a low concentric portion which, with respect to the time of operation, extends from a point in the rear portion of said slightly-rising portion of said intermediate cam to the rear end of said rapidly-falling portion of said intermediate cam, a slightly rising portion extending through the arc corresponding to the are through which said rapidly-rising portion of said intermediate cam extends, a high concentric portion extending through an arc corresponding to the forward portion of the are through which extends said slowly-rising portion of said intermediate cam, and a rapidlyfalling portion connecting the rear of said high concentric portion with the forward end of said low concentric portion; substantially as described.

2. In a press of the character indicated, a main frame, a support thereon, a lower ramframe supported upon said main frame, ashaft supported upon said ram-frame, a cam upon said shaft bearing upon said support, an upper ram-frame slidable with relation to said lower ram-frame, a second cam upon said shaft, and a member upon said upper ram-frame coacting with said second cam; substantially as described.

3. In a press of the character indicated, a main frame, a support thereon, a lower ramframe supported upon said main frame, a shaft supported upon said ram-frame, a cam upon said shaft bearing upon said support, an upper ram-frame slidable with relation to said lower ram-frame, a second cam upon said shaft, and a cam upon said upper ram-frame upon each side of said second cam and cooperating with the latter, said second cam and each of said cams upon said upper ram-frame being similar and having a slightly-rising surface diametrically opposite a slightly-falling surface, and a rapidly-rising surface diametrically opposite a rapidly-falling surface; substantially as described.

4. In a press of the character indicated, a main frame, a support thereon, a lower ram frame slidable upon said main frame, a ram carried by said lower ram-frame, a shaft carried by said lower ram-frame, a cam upon said shaft engaging said support, an upper ramframe telescoping Within said lower ram-frame and slidable therein, a second cam upon said shaft, and a member upon said upper ramframe with which said second cam engages;

substantially as described.

5. In a press of the character indicated, a lower ram-frame, a ram carried thereby, a shaft supported in said lower ram-frame, an upper ram-frame telescoping in said lower ram-frame, an upper ram carried by said upper ram-frame, a cam upon said shaft, and a member upon said upper ram -frame with which said cam engages for moving said upper ram-frame with respect to said lower ramframe; substantially as described.

6. In a press of the character indicated, a lower ram-frame having a head and side walls, a ram supported upon said head, a shaft journaled in said side walls, an upper ram-frame telescoping in said lower ram-frame and having a head and side walls, said side walls having elongated slots for receiving said shaft, an upper ram carried by said upper ramframe, a cam upon said shaft, counter-shafts extending across said upper ram-frame and carried thereby upon opposite sides of said cam, and rollers upon said last mentioned shafts and engaged by said cam; substantially as described.

7. In a brick-press, the combination with a mold-box, an upper ram, and a lower ram, sliding frames for carrying said rams, a cam mounted in the frame which carries the lower ram, means for driving said cam, cams mounted in the frame which carries the upper ram and cooperating with said first mentioned cam, and a gearing between all of said cams; substantially as described.

8. In a brick-press, the combination with a frame,a mold-box carried thereby, a ram above the mold-box, a second ram cooperating with the first-named ram and movable in the moldbox, a movable frame on which said second ram is carried, cams upon said frame, an intermediate cam between the first-named cams, all of said cams being similar to each other and each of them having a slightly-rising surface diametrically opposite a slightly-falling surface, and a rapidly-rising surface diametrically opposite a rapidly-falling surface, and extending through substantially the same number of degrees as that through which said rapidly-falling surface extends; substantially as described.

9. In a brick-press, the combination with a mold-box. a ram above said mold-box, a second ram cooperating with the same, a hollow frame for supporting the second ram, a plurality of cams within the hollow frame and supported thereby, the gear-teeth on one cam meshing with those on the adjacent cam, each of said cams having a slightly-rising surface diametrically opposite a slightly-falling surface, and a rapidly-rising surface diametrically opposite a rapidly-falling surface, whereby the rams are caused to rapidly compress the material, then slowly and powerfully compress said material, and then rapidly move apart; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of October, 1903.

MAX MUELLER.

Witnesses: GEORGE BAKEWELL, GALEs P. MOORE. 

